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Friday, August 27, 2010

Pesarattu ~ Moong Bean dosa / Crepes & the winner!!

New Woodlands Hotel in Chennai is one of our regular hangouts.Nine out of ten times,we'll be there on Saturday evenings to have our usual Goli Bajo/Mangalore Bonda and strong filter coffee.We hardly order anything else to the extent that sometimes if we are late,the first thing the waiters would tell us is that the Goli bajois over without us even asking them.It was during one such late evening that we had to check the menu and order something else.Ajay was very hungry and he ordered Pesarattu,which was available only during weekends.I hadn't even heard the name,so I played safe and ordered a plate of cutlets for myself.

I was happily chomping down the cutlets when Ajay's big plate of dosa came with roasted onions on top and thick white chutney as accompaniment.I hated to admit but I really wanted a taste of it.My resistance jumped out of the window when I heard oohs and aahs from him.I attacked his plate with a vengeance and to my own surprise,I liked it a lot.I absolutely couldn't make out that the main ingredient was whole moong dal.

While going through Aparna's blog for the Tried and Tasted event going on at Srivalli's space,the recipe for Pesarattu caught my eye.Memories of the dosa came flooding back and I decided I had to recreate the dosa at home.What I loved most about this dosa is that,very little preparation is required to make it.We loved it and I am planning to try it with Upma as I came to know that Upma-Pesarattu is a deadly combo!!

Soak the Moong bean and rice together for 4-6 hours or overnight.Drain and grind in a mixie/blender to a slightly thick and coarse paste along with onions,green chilly and asafoetida using water as required. The batter is ready to use[if not using immediately,refrigerate the batter till required].

On a hot dosa tawa,pour the batter and prepare dosa,adding about 1/2 a tsp of oil on the sides and cook on both sides till brown and cooked well.

You could also sprinkle some roasted onions on top[optional] before serving with some thick coconut chutney.[or as Aparna says,some powdered Jaggery,which is what I served the dosa with!!]

--As I posted here,I chose the winner for the Giveaway through random.org and the winner is Neena!!!Please e-mail me your address so that I can send it to Uprinting.com.Congrats!!

Hey, we do this too when we go to our regular small restaurant! The manger gives us strange looks if we order anything else other than what we always order. I am not very adventurous when I eat out too, I stick to the same dishes most of the times. Oh yeah, pesarattu and Upma is a great combo, and filling as well. Eat this and you will not stir a good part of the day:-))

Ooo.. I love mooga polo as we call it.. I love no-fermentation polos :).. we never add rice to the batter and it makes a great no-carb food, but I guess adding rice makes it crispier. We always add the chopped raw onions to the batter before making the polo (I guess it is more work to roast the onions separately)..my favorite combo of this is with thambalepuddi and jagerry..hehe..dunno why, I just like it that way..Anu